artistique

Erin! That is so exciting! We are going to be at the Azul Sensatori too in November, shooting Kathy and AJ's wedding on the 14th. We have never been there before and can't wait for our trip! The property looks amazing. You will find tons of great info on here for all of your planning... Michelle

Thank you so much Tiffany! I just responded to your email with all the details. Talk to you soon! Michelle

Thank you SO much Raveyn!! Congrats on your upcoming wedding too! The Royal is awesomel! There are so many cool places to shoot there and it is so easy just to walk into Playa. You'll have an amazing time!! Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by taylorwd I am of a different opinion than Artistique. Sunset for me was 7:05pm and I chose a 4pm ceremony so that I would have plenty of good light. I didn't want long shadows in my pictures. I think it all depends on what you're looking for. If you do want sunset time, make sure you see some shots from the photog you pick taken at that time of day. Not everyone is good at capturing shots in that light. And yes, picking the photog is definitely hard! For us the resort was the hardest choice, photog came a close second! The hour before sunset is called the 'golden hour' by photographers, with usually the best light of the day. The light gets softer and more flattering than it does earlier in the day with harsh overhead sun. Especially being on the east coast, the sun will go behind the trees before it sets and you have some amazing light. One of the best things about shooting on the beach in Mexico is that the white sand acts as a big reflector, reflecting light up into your faces. If you don't plan on seeing each other before the ceremony and you need to do all of the ones of the two of you, plus your wedding party and family, you will definitely want to do your ceremony earlier just from a time stand point, not a lighting standpoint. If you just want great light for your ceremony and some of the two of you on the beach after you should be fine with a skilled photographer. Here are a couple of 'golden hour' shots, with no shadows at all!

Quote: Originally Posted by amcferron All of you may brides out there that are already married, I have a question!!! I am wanting a ceremony as late as possible with good lighting for photog. on my wedding date may 13, it states sunset is at 7:17pm. We are planning on a 6pm wedding right now, but will the lighting be OK?? I suppose i can also ask my photog (when i finally hire one)!! BTW, picking a photog is the hardest decision!! Ashley, The lighting will be perfect for a 6pm ceremony. You could even go a little earlier, say 5:30. So long as you are done with your ceremony by 6:30, you should still have 45 minutes of good light to do some great shots of the two of you, plus get some sunset shots. The lighting on the beach there at that time is totally amazing!! Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by mexico_2011 SOUPS Genovese*Minestrone*Soup*with*Garlic*Croutons Asparagus*Soup Chicken*and*Lemon*Soup*from*Merida Onion*Soup,*with*Gruyere*Cheese*Crostini Lobster*Bisquet Melanie So the Asparagus Soup is AMAZING!! Honestly, one of the best soups I have ever had and was probably the part of the meal that the guests were raving about most. Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by ashfrylund does anyone know what food options come with the strawberry passion package?? I cant believe how fast time passes when you have a date- how freaky! Also, is there anyone who brought their own table decorations? What did you bring and was it easy to pack? were trying to find something creative but not too expensive... Thanks! Hey Ashley! Allison brought polished glass in her colors which was really compact, inexpensive, but really filled the tables. It looked really awesome and was unbreakable unlike trying to get vases down there. Here is a pic: Michelle

We have a lovely bride who is interested in doing a photographer share in May! Her date is May 14th (Friday), so anywhere around the 13th, 15th, 16th or so would be great! We offer our greatest deal for same weekend weddings, not only split travel but a HUGE discount off our package as well. Michelle

I am not familiar with the ILA resort, which one is that? Iberostar? Congrats on your wedding!! Michelle

October is a great month in the Rivera Maya, still nice and warm and pretty much out of hurricane season. Yay! Good luck with all of your plans. Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by thefuturemrslutz 1) Book flights to Cancun (they keep going up and down...guess we just need to book and take the risk) Airlines will typically drop rates Tuesday/Wednesday/maybe Thursday then they go up again for the weekend. The best day to book is usually a Tuesday. Also, flying on a Tuesday/Wednesday is usually cheaper than on a Friday or weekend. Play around with different combos of arrival and departure days and there will be an amazing difference. The flights we take to Cancun range from $780 for two to $948 for two, sometimes in the same week! Keep an eye on it over a few weeks and you will start to see the patterns. Hope that helps! Michelle

Melissa! It wasn't on your list but have you looked at Barcelo Maya Palace? It is gorgeous, has a great kids program and pools, a fabulous gazebo for the wedding, and a private reception under cover but open air (the grill) plus a beautiful, private beach. It is pretty spectacular. I will include a photo of the gazebo so you can get an idea if you haven't seen it already. Have fun planning! Michelle

Kiko! The Olowalu Plantation House is AMAZING!! What a perfect spot and about as central as you are going to get for your families. Once you get into it, you will have a great time planning I'm sure. There is tons of helpful info here to make is easier too. Jemand sounds like a romantic, so hopefully he will give you a lot of help and support as you plan. Michelle

Lena! That is the perfect time of the year to go. Have fun with all of your planning! Michelle

There are tons of threads in the Riveria Maya forum which talk about the different resorts. That will give you a really good idea about which resorts sound good to you. There are tons of pics on here too to help make your search easier. Michelle

Tracy! The Bahamas in the winter sounds wonderful! Have fun planning... Michelle

You must be SO thrilled with your ring, that is so sweet and romantic of him! Tiny weddings are awesome, we only had 14 people total at ours, including us! There are tons of great ideas here to plan pretty much everything you need. Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by dstinationdrmr So Ladies, I just found out this week that I may be able to do a site visit!! I'm so anxious about it it's crazy. My mom is turning 60 this year and wanted to go to Paris but due to my wedding and my sister's divorce we had to downgrade that unfortunately. I suggested a cruise which is her fav vacay and it stops in Cozumel! The cruise is 2 weeks from now. Does anyone know the best way for me to get to AS from Cozumel? The 20 min flight from Cozumel to Cancun was suspended and I hear the bus from PM to Cozumel is very sporadic and I can't miss the boat Also, I know a lot of you are anxious about certain things so IF I can find a safe way to get back and forth AND get back to the boat in time, I'll be willing to scope out things that you guys need. My WC Cecile made it seem like its no big deal to get the site visit scheduled and she offered me a food tasting. I'm just waiting for her to get back to me about the cake tasting. I feel like I've gotten so much info from the ladies on here so the only thing I'm still nervous about is the food. So, I'll keep you posted on all of this. The dat for the site visit would be Tuesday, July 13th. You shouldn't have any problem doing that, depending on how long you are in port. There are two ferries that go to Playa, here are the schedules: http://www.mexicowaterjets.com/eng/ http://www.granpuerto.com.mx/ They run every hour or two and the trip takes about 45 minutes. From there, you will want to take a taxi to the hotel. There are always tons at the corner of 5th Avenue and Juarez by the bus station. You can purchase your return ticket ahead of time too so you will be ready to hop on on the way back. Azul Sensatori is about 22 miles or so north of Playa, so definitely plan in your travel time back and forth. It is probably a 10 minute or so walk from the taxi area to the pier. You might find one closer of course but I would plan on going as far as the bus station where you will find one for sure. Hope that helps! Michelle

Just an update on our November dates. We put in our first post we will be available the 15th through the 22nd (we have a wedding on the 14th), but we would also be able to do the week before that too, so a wedding anywhere from 5th to the 22nd. Also, our April dates could be extended as well for a wedding either side of those dates. Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by Vanessa C Hi Tlseege, I would say our budget is about $1500 however that would include all the pics they take not only 120 or whatever Check through the Vendor Marketplace too. Some photographers post when they will be in the area for another wedding and you may find someone with no travel fees at all within your budget. Also, maybe check other bride's siggys in the Nov 2011 brides threads in both the general and RM wedding forums. That is the way other bride's "advertise" a photog share. Michelle

Don't forget to check out the vendor market place too. There are lots of photographers on there who have samples of work and some list packages as well. You might also find either there or in another bride's siggy a photographer share, where a photographer is flying in around your date and will work a package with little or no travel fees. Vendor Marketplace - Best Destination Wedding Forum ~ The Ultimate Destination Wedding Resource Have a great weekend! Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by sboone Hi girls! I am getting married on November 5th at Hotel Marina El Cid. You guys are WAY more organized that we are, but we're planning to get started with everything soon. We have outfits for everyone, people are already starting to book, but we have to send out invites, plan flowers, choose our menu, plan activities, and find a photographer, hair stylist, etc. Plus we need to choose our honeymoon location! That being said I would LOVE some suggestions on photographers, florists, activities (we wanted to charter a boat to take everyone on a sailing trip). You girls all seem to have done your homework. I'd love try to share decorations/photographers if that's an option. Our colors are black, white, cream, and peach. Any help would be amazing!! We've been engaged for a year at the end of the month and I feel like we've hardly done any planning...oops I would highly recommend Catamaya for your sailing trip! :::::::::: CATAMAYA :::::::::: We went in January and it was so awesome! The boat is beautiful and the crew couldn't have been more fun. Everyone who wanted to went snorkeling (all gear provided of course) and others just swam off the back of the boat. It was a sunset cruise so they went under power to the snorkeling place, then sailed back towards the sunset. It was gorgeous! I will post some pics later as I am off to an appt now. Oh, and they sail out of Puerto Aventuras, just south of Playa. Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by BethBride1 Besides the waiters that work at the reception, who do we have to tip when we are down there We leave in 3 days!!!!!!!!!! We take a stack of $1's, usually about $75 and tip most everyone $1-2 (or more at the sit down restaurants) with good service, bartenders & waiters plus leave a couple of dollars a day for housekeeping. You get great service, we never had anything taken from our room and honestly, most of these guys make less than $20 per day!! Thank is SO exciting that you are leaving so soon! Woo Hoo!!! It is going to be amazing! Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by diamondpooch I'm really torn on this cake thing. The one tier just doesn't look wedding cake-ish enough for me, but do I really wanna pay for the two or three tier when it sounds like no one wants to eat it!!! Bah! Why don't you do the one tier and add a cute cake topper and some flowers? That way at least you will have a keepsake, and not just a layer of wedding cake to be thrown away. If you don't want to pay for extra flowers, you could has someone disassemble one of the bm's bouquets and just use some blooms around the base. Michelle

Quote: Originally Posted by jjflipt Good day ladies! Any suggestions on where I should have my bridal breakfast? Thanks!!!!! The aptly named Tropical Buffet or Colonial Buffet will probably be the only ones open for breakfast. (I don't think Palmeras or Mariachi are open that early, I think it is just for lunch. Their buffets aren't as extensive anyway but fab for lunch!). Both are super nice and serve pretty much the same selection. You may want to have someone go a bit early to make sure you get a big enough table depending on how many people you have. Since you most likely wont be able to make reservations, it would be nice to have someone there with the table set and ready to go when everyone else arrives. Michelle